Lighting fixtures and light sources are an integral part of modern day surgical techniques. As physicians and surgeons develop new surgical techniques, the need increases for more reliable and efficient optical aids. Thus, the field of optical aids and equipment has also been associated with rapid strides and progress in order to supply the lighting required by the significant advances made in the medical and related fields.
Coupled with the desire to provide better illumination while reducing glare and improving efficiency, is the need for a light source which can be easily and conveniently adjusted either prior to or during the surgical technique.
The surgeon desires to adjust the light source in a given direction and position and must be assured that it will be maintained in that position during the surgical procedure.
As one can easily envision, the prior art is replete with a number of references that are directed toward the problem of adjusting a source of light and maintaining the same in a predetermined and desired position.
To facilitate solution of this problem, certain of the prior art devices employ the conventional ball and socket joint with various modifications to insure greater capability of adjustment. While a "ball and socket joint" is a well-known and conventional means for providing adjustability, it suffers from many disadvantages.
First, the problem of maintaining the apparatus in a given position is considerable; as due to the nature of the joint it is capable of easy positioning and once utilized for an extended time becomes loose fitting and can move due to extremely small spurious forces. Also depending upon the weight of the apparatus to be positioned, the forces thus exerted on the assembly may cause one to experience difficulty in accurately positioning the same caused by slippage or inertia due to the weight. Such mechanical drifts would be extremely detrimental and disturbing to a physisian or surgeon during an operating procedure and, in general, would be disturbing to any user desiring to maintain an accurate, predetermined positioned assembly, be it a light source or any other device whose adjusted position is to be accurately maintained once aligned properly.